Magento to Shopify migration checklist

Most Magento stores we're asked to move share one trait. The catalogue works, but only one or two people understand why. Attribute sets, configurable products, custom modules and URL rules have built up over years, and nobody wrote them down.

A Magento to Shopify migration protects all of that in five steps. Audit what you have. Remodel the catalogue for Shopify. Move customers and order history with a plan for passwords. Redirect every URL that earns traffic. Then rehearse the cutover before DNS moves. The checklist below is the version we use on real projects, in the order we use it.

Start with an audit, not an export

The fastest way to slow a migration down is to export everything on day one. You end up importing data nobody has looked at. Start by writing down what the store actually does.

• Every product type in use, from simple and configurable to bundles and grouped products.
• The attribute sets and which attributes customers filter or choose by.
• Active extensions, and the job each one does.
• Integrations with an ERP, a 3PL, a payment provider or a marketing tool.
• Store views, currencies and languages.
• Customer groups, tier prices and any trade terms.
• The pages that earn organic traffic, taken from Search Console and analytics.

That list becomes the scope. It also shows you which parts of the old store you can leave behind.

How do Magento products map to Shopify?

Magento's EAV model doesn't map one to one into Shopify. That's usually a good thing. It forces a decision about how customers should browse.

Configurable products normally become one Shopify product with variants. The attributes a customer chooses, such as size or colour, become options. The attributes that only describe a product, such as material or care instructions, belong in metafields. Those metafields can drive filters and product page blocks without cluttering the variant picker.

Some catalogues need a different shape. If each colour looks very different, separate products linked together can rank and sell better. We wrote up how to make that call in our guide to variants or separate listings on Shopify.

A few other things need a decision before import.

• Bundles and grouped products usually need an app or a simpler structure.
• Custom options with extra charges need a clear home, often a metafield plus an app.
• Several store views usually become one Shopify store with markets and translations, not several stores.

Customers, trade terms and order history

Regular customers are the people who notice a migration first. If they can't log in or find a past order, they call you.

Customer records, addresses and order history can all move. Passwords often can't. We plan an activation path so returning customers set a new password once and keep everything else. We test that path before launch, not after. Our guide to a BigCommerce to Shopify migration covers the same activation question from another platform.

Trade customers need more care. Magento customer groups and tier prices often carry years of agreed terms. On Shopify Plus those terms can become B2B companies, catalogues and payment terms, so each buyer sees their own price.

Fáilte Foods is a good example. Their Magento store was disconnected from the ERP, and a core group of trade customers used it regularly. We moved them to Shopify Plus with Business Central, date based pricing and a favourites list for reordering. Keeping their order history and access through cutover wasn't optional. Customer onboarding rose by over 500%, and conversion sits above 30%.

Redirects: protect what Google already knows

Magento URLs are often nested and end in .html. Shopify uses its own product and collection paths. Every URL that earns traffic needs a one to one 301 redirect before DNS changes.

The checklist here is short but strict.

1. Crawl the live site and export every indexable URL.
2. Match them against Search Console data so you know which pages matter most.
3. Map each one to its Shopify equivalent, by hand for the top pages.
4. Keep titles and meta descriptions that still do their job.
5. Test the redirects on staging, then again on launch day.
6. Watch 404s and Search Console for the weeks after go live.

Blanket redirects to the homepage aren't a plan. They throw away the rankings you've already paid for. Our note on keeping your Google rankings when you move to Shopify goes deeper on this.

Extensions, integrations and cutover week

Each Magento extension needs a home on Shopify. Most jobs are covered by a native feature or a solid app. A few are unique to your business and justify a custom app. Deciding this early stops a pile of like for like apps from appearing.

Integrations need the same care. If an ERP owns stock, price or customers, map which system holds the truth before you build. Test the awkward cases, such as partial refunds and customers created in two places. Our guide to what a Shopify ERP integration involves walks through that.

Then plan the cutover itself.

• Agree a trading window that avoids your peaks.
• Freeze catalogue edits on Magento for the final days.
• Run a last import of new orders and customers.
• Rehearse login, checkout and reordering on staging.
• Switch the domain, test the redirects and watch the first orders closely.

Cutover should be practised, not hoped for. If the rehearsal feels dull, you're in good shape.

Where parallel helps

We run Magento and Adobe Commerce moves as data and SEO projects that happen to launch a Shopify store. The same people scope the catalogue, write the redirect map and carry out the cutover. You can see the detail on our Magento to Shopify migration page, and how we approach Shopify migrations more widely. For a smaller, brand-led site, our guide to a Wix to Shopify migration covers that route.

Does your Magento store hold years of catalogue and customers you can't afford to lose? Book a call and we'll talk through the audit with you.